Method and apparatus for creating and playing soundtracks in a gaming system

ABSTRACT

A gaming system includes a game console that executes an application that creates and plays soundtracks through the gaming system. The application allows a user to create soundtracks by copying audio tracks from one or more audio sources. A user-created soundtrack can be associated with a particular game such that the user-created soundtrack is played during execution of the game instead of the game&#39;s default soundtrack.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

[0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document containsmaterial which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright ownerhas no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdocument or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent andTrademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves allcopyright rights whatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This invention relates to gaming systems and, more particularly,to the creation of soundtracks using a gaming system and to the playbackof soundtracks using a gaming system.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Gaming systems currently available on the market are capable ofplaying game discs, music CDs, and movie DVDs from a disc drive. Forexample, the Playstation® 2 gaming system from Sony Corporation providesthe ability to play games, music, and video titles from a disc insertedin the console. Certain gaming systems also provide a modem or othermechanism for establishing an online connection to facilitate onlinegaming.

[0004] Current gaming systems play games that typically include a gamesoundtrack. The game soundtrack is stored on a disc along with the game(i.e., a game disc). This game soundtrack includes music that is createdby or selected by the game developer. If the user of the gaming systemdislikes the game soundtrack or grows tired of the same soundtrack beingplayed repeatedly, some gaming systems allow the user to launch the gamefrom the game disc, and then replace the game disc with an audio CD thatis played by the gaming system while the game is executed. However, ifthe game requires additional information from the game disc (e.g., whenchanging from one level to another), the user must remove the audio CDand re-insert the game disc. After the additional information has beenretrieved from the game disc, the game disc can be removed from thegaming system and replaced with the audio CD. This switching of discsdisrupts the gaming experience and is a nuisance to the user.

[0005] The system and method described herein addresses theselimitations by providing a mechanism to create soundtracks in a gamingsystem and to select a soundtrack to be played while executing aparticular game.

SUMMARY

[0006] The method and apparatus described herein provide the ability tocreate, edit, and play soundtracks in a gaming system. The soundtracksinclude one or more audio tracks copied or retrieved from one or moreaudio sources (such as an audio CD, an audio DVD, a game disc, or anonline source containing audio files). Soundtracks are stored on a harddisk drive in the gaming system and can be played back through thegaming system. Additionally, soundtracks stored in the gaming system canbe associated with a particular game such that the soundtrack is played(instead of the game's default soundtrack) while the game executes. Thissystem allows the user to choose or create a soundtrack based on theuser's audio preferences, and does not limit the user to the gamesoundtrack provided by the game developer.

[0007] In the described implementation, the gaming system includes agame console and one or more controllers. The game console is equippedwith a hard disk drive, a portable media drive, and broadbandconnectivity. A console application stored on the hard disk drive isloaded when the game console is powered on. The console applicationpresents a menu hierarchy that includes various soundtrack creation andsoundtrack selection menus. The soundtrack creation menu allows the userto select various audio tracks to be included in a soundtrack. Thesoundtrack selection menu allows the user to select a soundtrack forplayback or for associating with a particular game such that thesoundtrack is played when the particular game is launched.

[0008] When a game is launched, the gaming system determines whether thelaunched game has a user-associated soundtrack. If so, theuser-associated soundtrack is retrieved from the hard disk drive andplayed while the game is executed. If the launched game does not have auser-associated soundtrack, the gaming system either 1) plays thedefault game soundtrack provided by the game developer; or 2) allows theuser to select the soundtrack to be played while the game is executed.The user of the gaming system can change soundtracks in the middle of agame by pausing the game and selecting a different soundtrack. Thegaming system then resumes execution of the game and begins playing thenewly selected soundtrack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 illustrates a gaming system that implements a uniform mediaportal architecture.

[0010]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the gaming system.

[0011]FIG. 3 illustrates a network gaming system in which the FIG. 1gaming system is connected via a network to other consoles and services.

[0012]FIG. 4 illustrates a navigation hierarchy employed by the gamingsystem.

[0013]FIG. 5 illustrates a graphical user interface depicting the mainmenu of the gaming system.

[0014]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the main menu navigation process thatis performed after the gaming system is initialized.

[0015]FIG. 7 illustrates a graphical user interface depicting a musiccollection menu that is accessible from the main menu.

[0016]FIG. 8 illustrates a graphical user interface depicting a musicplayer that is accessible from the music collection menu.

[0017]FIG. 9 illustrates a graphical user interface depicting a screendisplay used to select an existing soundtrack or create a newsoundtrack.

[0018]FIG. 10 illustrates the creation of a soundtrack using a varietyof different audio sources.

[0019]FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for creating anew soundtrack.

[0020]FIG. 12 illustrates a graphical user interface depicting a screendisplayed during the creation of a soundtrack.

[0021]FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating a process that determineswhich soundtrack to play when a particular game is launched.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The method and apparatus discussed herein allows users to createand play soundtracks in a gaming system. A soundtrack can be played byitself or played at the same time a game is executed, thereby replacingthe soundtrack provided with the game. The soundtrack is created bycopying audio data (or audio tracks) from one or more audio sources andstoring the audio data as a soundtrack on a hard disk drive. The audiosources may include audio CDs, audio DVDs, game discs, and onlinesources that contain music files available for download. Since thesoundtrack is played from the hard disk drive, it is not necessary toremove the game disc or other media from the gaming system prior toplaying the soundtrack.

[0023]FIG. 1 shows an exemplary gaming system 100. It includes a gameconsole 102 and up to four controllers, as represented by controllers104(1) and 104(2). The game console 102 is equipped with an internalhard disk drive and a portable media drive 106 that supports variousforms of portable storage media as represented by optical storage disc108. Examples of suitable portable storage media include DVD, CD-ROM,game discs, and so forth.

[0024] The game console 102 has four slots 110 on its front face tosupport up to four controllers 104, although the number and arrangementof slots may be modified. A power button 112 and an eject button 114 arealso positioned on the front face of the game console 102. The powerbutton 112 switches power to the game console and the eject button 114alternately opens and closes a tray of the portable media drive 106 toallow insertion and extraction of the storage disc 108.

[0025] The game console 102 connects to a television or other display(not shown) via A/V interfacing cables 120. A power cable 122 providespower to the game console. The game console 102 may further beconfigured with broadband capabilities, as represented by the cable ormodem connector 124 to facilitate access to a network, such as theInternet.

[0026] Each controller 104 is coupled to the game console 102 via a wireor wireless interface. In the illustrated implementation, thecontrollers are USB (Universal Serial Bus) compatible and are connectedto the console 102 via serial cables 130. The controller 102 may beequipped with arty of a wide variety of user interaction mechanisms. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, each controller 104 is equipped with twothumbsticks 132(1) and 132(2), a D-pad 134, buttons 136, and twotriggers 138. These mechanisms are merely representative, and otherknown gaming mechanisms may be substituted for or added to those shownin FIG. 1.

[0027] A memory unit (MU) 140 may be inserted into the controller 104 toprovide additional and portable storage. Portable memory units enableusers to store game parameters and port them for play on other consoles.In the described implementation, each controller 104 is configured toaccommodate two memory units 140, although more or less than two unitsmay be employed in other implementations.

[0028] The gaming system 100 is capable of playing, for example, games,music, and videos. With the different storage offerings, titles can beplayed from the hard disk drive or the portable medium 108 in drive 106,from an online source, or from a memory unit 140. A sample of what thegaming system 100 is capable of playing back include:

[0029] 1. Game titles played from CD and DVD, from the hard disk drive,or from an online source.

[0030] 2. Digital music played from a CD in the portable media drive106, from a file on the hard disk drive (e.g., Windows Media Audio (WMA)format), or from online streaming sources.

[0031] 3. Digital audio/video played from a DVD disc in the portablemedia drive 106, from a file on the hard disk drive (e.g., ActiveStreaming Format), or from online streaming sources.

[0032]FIG. 2 shows functional components of the gaming system 100 inmore detail. The game console 102 has a central processing unit (CPU)200 and a memory controller 202 that facilitates processor access tovarious types of memory, including a flash ROM (Read Only Memory) 204, aRAM (Random Access Memory) 206, a hard disk drive 208, and the portablemedia drive 106. The CPU 200 is equipped with a level 1 cache 210 and alevel 2 cache 212 to temporarily store data and hence reduce the numberof memory access cycles, thereby improving processing speed andthroughput.

[0033] The CPU 200, memory controller 202, and various memory devicesare interconnected via one or more buses, including serial and parallelbuses, a memory bus, a peripheral bus, and a processor or local bususing any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, sucharchitectures can include an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, aMicro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, an Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, aVideo Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and aPeripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus, also known as a Mezzaninebus.

[0034] As one suitable implementation, the CPU 200, memory controller202, ROM 204, and RAM 206 are integrated onto a common module 214. Inthis implementation, ROM 204 is configured as a flash ROM that isconnected to the memory controller 202 via a PCI (Peripheral ComponentInterconnect) bus and a ROM bus (neither of which are shown). RAM 206 isconfigured as multiple DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate Synchronous DynamicRAM) that are independently controlled by the memory controller 202 viaseparate buses (not shown). The hard disk drive 208 and portable mediadrive 106 are connected to the memory controller via the PCI bus and anATA (AT Attachment) bus 216.

[0035] A 3D graphics processing unit 220 and a video encoder 222 form avideo processing pipeline for high speed and high resolution graphicsprocessing. Data is carried from the graphics processing unit 220 to thevideo encoder 222 via a digital video bus (not shown). An audioprocessing unit 224 and an audio codec (coder/decoder) 226 form acorresponding audio processing pipeline with high fidelity and stereoprocessing. Audio data is carried between the audio processing unit 224and the audio codec 226 via a communication link (not shown). The videoand audio processing pipelines output data to an A/V (audio/video) port228 for transmission to the television or other display. In theillustrated implementation, the video and audio processing components220-228 are mounted on the module 214.

[0036] Also implemented on the module 214 are a USB host controller 230and a network interface 232. The USB host controller 230 is coupled tothe CPU 200 and the memory controller 202 via a bus (e.g., PCI bus) andserves as host for the peripheral controllers 104(1)-104(4). The networkinterface 232 provides access to a network (e.g., Internet, homenetwork, etc.) and may be any of a wide variety of various wired orwireless interface components including an Ethernet card, a modem, aBluetooth module, a cable modem, and the like.

[0037] The game console 102 has two dual controller supportsubassemblies 240(1) and 240(2), with each subassembly supporting twogame controllers 104(l)-104(4). A front panel I/O subassembly 242supports the functionality of the power button 112 and the eject button114, as well as any LEDs (light emitting diodes) or other indicatorsexposed on the outer surface of the game console. The subassemblies240(1), 240(2), and 242 are coupled to the module 214 via one or morecable assemblies 244.

[0038] Eight memory units 140(1)-140(8) are illustrated as beingconnectable to the four controllers 104(1)-104(4), i.e., two memoryunits for each controller. Each memory unit 140 offers additionalstorage on which games, game parameters, and other data may be stored.When inserted into a controller, the memory unit 140 can be accessed bythe memory controller 202.

[0039] A system power supply module 250 provides power to the componentsof the gaming system 100. A fan 252 cools the circuitry within the gameconsole 102.

[0040] The game console 102 implements a uniform media portal model thatprovides a consistent user interface and navigation hierarchy to moveusers through various entertainment areas. The portal model offers aconvenient way to access content from multiple different mediatypes—game data, audio data, and video data-regardless of the media typeinserted into the portable media drive 106.

[0041] To implement the uniform media portal model, a console userinterface (UI) application 260 is stored on the hard disk drive 208.When the game console is powered on, various portions of the consoleapplication 260 are loaded into RAM 206 and/or caches 210, 212 andexecuted on the CPU 200. The console application 260 presents agraphical user interface that provides a consistent user experience whennavigating to different media types available on the game console.

[0042] The gaming system 100 may be operated as a standalone system bysimply connecting the system to a television or other display. In thisstandalone mode, the gaming system 100 allows one or more players toplay games, watch movies, or listen to music. However, with theintegration of broadband connectivity made available through the networkinterface 232, the gaming system 100 may further be operated as aparticipant in a larger network gaming community.

[0043]FIG. 3 shows an exemplary network gaming environment 300 thatinterconnects multiple gaming systems 100(1),. . . , 100(g) via anetwork 302. The network 302 represents any of a wide variety of datacommunications networks. It may include public portions (e.g., theInternet) as well as private portions (e.g., a residential Local AreaNetwork (LAN)), as well as combinations of public and private portions.Network 302 may be implemented using any one or more of a wide varietyof conventional communications media including both wired and wirelessmedia. Any of a wide variety of communications protocols can be used tocommunicate data via network 302, including both public and proprietaryprotocols. Examples of such protocols include TCP/IP, PIX/SPX, NetBEUI,etc.

[0044] In addition to gaming systems 100, one or more online services304(1), . . . , 304(s) may be accessible via the network 302 to providevarious services for the participants, such as hosting online games,serving downloadable music or video files, hosting gaming competitions,serving streaming audio/video files, and the like. The network gamingenvironment 300 may further involve a key distribution center 306 thatplays a role in authenticating individual players and/or gaming systems100 to one another as well as online services 304. The distributioncenter 306 distributes keys and service tickets to valid participantsthat may then be used to form games amongst multiple players or topurchase services from the online services 304.

[0045] The network gaming environment 300 introduces another memorysource available to individual gaming systems 100—online storage. Inaddition to the portable storage medium 108, the hard disk drive 208,and the memory unit(s) 140, the gaming system 100(1) can also accessdata files available at remote storage locations via the network 302, asexemplified by remote storage 308 at online service 304(s).

[0046]FIG. 4 shows the uniform media portal model 400. It provides amain menu 402 that acts as a common interface for multiple media types,including game media, movie media, and music media: The main menu 402presents the user with a set of navigation choices that accuratelydescribe what they would like to interact with on their console. Thistop-level menu is a simple representation of the three primaryentertainment areas available on the console, thus presenting thefollowing choices:

[0047] Games: This entertainment area pertains to a user's gameexperience and gaming media.

[0048] Music: This entertainment area is dedicated to the music contextand audio media.

[0049] Movies: This entertainment area relates to a user's movieexperience and video media.

[0050] The model's navigation hierarchy follows the media theme. Beneaththe main menu 402 are collections of titles that pertain to theirparticular media types currently available to the user. In this example,a user can navigate from the main menu 402 to a games collection 404that lists currently available game titles. Navigation may also be madeto a music collection 406 that groups available music titles and a moviecollection 408 that groups available movie titles. By constructing thehierarchy in terms of media type, the user is intuitively presented withtitles within any given entertainment area. The titles within thevarious areas may be stored in any one of many storage locations, butsuch detail is not immediately revealed. Thus, the uniform media portalmodel 400 offers a coherent way to access multiple media typesregardless of the media type inserted into the gaming system's portablemedia drive.

[0051] Area specific features, such as high scores on a game or creatinga soundtrack, are left for lower levels of the model 400. Thus, beneatheach collection is the specific play area that pertains to theparticular media experience. A games play area 410 is navigated throughthe games collection 404, a music play area 412 is accessed through themusic collection 406, and a movies play area 414 is navigated throughthe movie collection 408. This organization of the model allows users toselect the context of the media type. This model thus provides ahigh-level “filter” on the kinds of media available on the console, andwhat operations may be performed with respect to the media.

[0052] The model 400 also accommodates system areas, including a memoryarea 416 and a settings area 418. The memory area 416 allows users toview memory contents and manage the memory devices in the console. Thesettings area 418 allows users to preview currently set options, as wellas adjust the settings as desired.

[0053] The console application 260, which implements the uniform mediaportal model 400, is stored in the hard disk drive 208 of the console102. The console application 260 is loaded each time the console ispowered on. When power is initially applied and before presenting themain menu or loading a title, the console application 260 runs throughan initialization cycle.

[0054]FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface 500depicting the main menu of the gaming system. The main menu UI 500 isgenerated by the console UI application 260 and depicted on thetelevision or other display. The main menu UI 500 contains the five menuelements: a games element 502, a music element 504, a movies element506, a memory element 508, and a setting element 510. These elementsprovide the navigation entry points for the five level-one areas of theuniform media portal model 400, namely, the games collection 404, themusic collection 406, the movie collection 408, the memory 416, and thesettings 418. Environmental background audio may be played when enteringthe main menu to further enhance the user environment.

[0055] The focus on the main menu UI 500 is initially placed on thegames element 502, but other default positions may be alternativelyemployed. Any of the four controllers 104(1)-104(4) may be used tonavigate the console user interface. The main menu is navigated fromleft to right with any of the connected controller thumbsticks. “D-pad”and left analog thumbstick actions are treated the same. The console UIapplication 260 recognizes all button presses and thumbstick movementsfrom every controller 104, so moves from multiple thumbstickssimultaneously may result in a “tug-of-war” navigation. In oneimplementation, the navigation does not wrap once the user has reachedthe far left or right extent of the main menu UI 500, thus attempting tomove right once the user has reached the settings element 510 or to moveleft once the user has reached the games element 502 will have noeffect.

[0056] A select element 512 allows the user to select the focusedelement from among the five main menu elements 502-510. The “A” buttonon the controller is used to control the select element 512, and hencethe graphical select element 512 illustrates an “a” within the element.Upon selection, the console UI application navigates to the selectedarea.

[0057]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the main menu navigation process 600that is performed after the gaming system is initialized. The process600 is implemented in software as computer-executable instructions thatare executed by the CPU 200 to perform the operations illustrated asblocks. The process generally discerns which main menu element isselected and navigates to the selected area.

[0058] At block 602, the console application 260 determines whether thegames element 502 is selected. If so (i.e., the “Yes” branch from block602), the console application 260 navigates to the games collection 404and presents a games collection menu (block 604). If the games elementis not selected, block 606 determines whether the music element 504 isselected. If the music element 504 is selected, the console UIapplication 260 navigates to the music collection 406 and presents amusic collection menu (block 608). As discussed below, the musiccollection menu includes options to create, edit, and play soundtracksthrough the gaming system.

[0059] If the movies element 506 is selected (block 610), the console UIapplication 260 navigates to the movies collection 408 and presents amovie player (block 612). If the memory element 508 is selected (block614), the console UI application 260 navigates to the memory area 416and presents a memory collection menu (block 616). Finally, if thesettings element 510 is selected (block 618), the console UI application260 navigates to the settings area 418 and presents a settingscollection menu (block 620).

[0060]FIG. 7 illustrates a graphical user interface depicting a musiccollection menu 700 that is presented upon selection of the musicelement 504 in the main menu UI 500 (FIG. 5). The music collection isthe area where the user can select from available audio discs in theportable media drive 106 as well as soundtracks they have previouslycreated and stored on the hard disk drive 208. The music collection menu700 includes a list 702 of the available audio discs in the portablemedia drive (if any) and soundtrack files on the hard disk drive. Anexample of a suitable audio disc is a Redbook audio CD (compact disc).An example of a suitable soundtrack file is one or more WMA files copiedfrom an audio CD, an audio DVD, a game disc, an online source, or otheraudio source.

[0061] An orb 704 contains a graphic of the currently selected audioitem and a metatext panel 706 posts information about the current audioelement. As the user is navigates over the list 702 of the availableaudio discs and soundtracks, corresponding summary information is postedin the metadata panel 706. The following information is displayed forthe currently selected audio disc or soundtrack:

[0062] Name of the audio element as it appears in the list

[0063] Total number of tracks

[0064] Total playing time for the audio element in minutes and seconds

[0065] In this example, the audio CD is highlighted in list 702 andhence a CD image is presented in orb 704. As indicated by the metatextpanel 706, the audio CD is the 14-track album “Earthling” by DavidBowie. When network access is available, artist and other information(such as track titles and release date) can be retrieved from onlineservices over the Internet at any time.

[0066] Descriptive text 708 (i.e., “n items”) is positioned beside themain legend “Music Collection” to indicate the number of titles in themusic collection. The list 702 displays a limited number of music titles(e.g., eight titles). When a user first enters the music collectionafter purchasing their console, there will be zero titles in the musiccollection (i.e., “0 items”). In this situation, the music collectionmenu 700 is bypassed and the user is navigated to the music playerscreen (shown and described below with respect to FIG. 8) The title ofthe music player screen is “no audio CD” and all of the playback buttonsin the area are disabled. The user may only navigate back to the mainmenu 500 (FIG. 5).

[0067] If the user only has a single audio disc in the portable mediadrive, or a single soundtrack in the music collection, the user isautomatically navigated past the music collection menu 700 when comingfrom the main menu and is taken directly to the music player screen. Asthe user creates multiple soundtracks and stores them in the hard diskdrive, the music collection menu 700 is no longer bypassed, but insteadpresents the available soundtracks in the list 702. When the descriptivetext 708 indicates that there are more music titles than shown on list702 (e.g., n>8), up/down scroll arrows are added to the list 702 torepresent that more titles are available. The user can move among musictitles in list 702 by using the up and down directions of thethumbstick, or some other pre-defined control mechanism. The list 702may be configured to wrap or not wrap when the user reaches the top orthe bottom of the list. A select element 710 enables user selection ofthe highlighted title from list 702 using the “A” button on thecontroller. Selection of a game title navigates the user to the musicplayer menu. A back element 712 facilitates navigation back to the mainmenu UI 500 by pressing the “B” button on the controller.

[0068]FIG. 8 illustrates a graphical user interface depicting anexemplary music player 800 that is accessible from the music collectionmenu or, where no music titles are listed, upon loading a music disc.The music player allows the user to play back the current audio disc inthe portable media drive 106 or previously created soundtracks. Themusic player 800 includes a track list 802 of the available audio tracksand corresponding track lengths, an orb 804 that contains a radialspectrum analyzer (or other music related visual), and a status element806 that displays the current playback status and timeline of thecurrent track. During audio playback, the current track being playedwithin, the track list 802 is highlighted. The status element 806renders the following information for the user:

[0069] Current time within the current track

[0070] Visual progress bar for the current track

[0071] Simple playback icons to denote playback status (e.g., play,pause, stop, repeat, random)

[0072] A transport control panel 812 is displayed along the bottom ofthe music player for playback control. An example control panel 812includes a play/pause button, a stop button, a skip forward button, askip back button, a random track selection button, and a repeat button.When the user first navigates into the music player from the main menuor the music collection, the play button in the transport control panel812 is in focus by default. Buttons on the game controller 104 may bemapped to the transport control buttons. For example, a white button onthe controller might be mapped to the play/pause toggle button, theblack controller button might be mapped to the stop button, the lefttrigger might be mapped to the previous track button, and the Righttrigger might be mapped to the next track button.

[0073] A “copy song” button 816 is also displayed in the music player UI800. When the copy song button 816 is selected, the user is navigatedinto the soundtrack creation tool with the current audio disc orsoundtrack as the source. The soundtrack creation tool allows one ormore tracks to be copied to a soundtrack. The soundtrack creation toolis discussed in greater detail below.

[0074] A select element 808 enables user selection of the highlightedaudio track from list 802 using the “A” button on the controller. A backelement 810 facilitates navigation back to the previous menu by pressingthe “B” button on the controller.

[0075]FIG. 9 illustrates a graphical user interface depicting a examplescreen display 900 used to select an existing soundtrack or create a newsoundtrack. As noted above, users can create their own soundtracks bycopying audio tracks from one or more audio sources. Screen display 900provides users with a list 902 of all soundtracks available to thegaming system. Such soundtracks may be stored on the hard disk drive208, a portable disc medium 108 in drive 106, a memory unit 140, or atremote storage 308 at an online source 304. If the user has created atleast one soundtrack, the list 902 depicts one or more placards ofavailable soundtracks. A user entered name, or a default name“soundtrack 1”, “soundtrack 2”, etc., is shown on the placards.

[0076] A “New Soundtrack” button 904 is positioned beside the list toenable the user to create a new soundtrack. Upon selection of asoundtrack in the list 902 or the “New Soundtrack” button 904, the useris navigated to a track selection screen described below with respect toFIG. 12. If the user has not yet created a soundtrack, the list 902 ofavailable soundtracks is empty. Upon choosing the “New Soundtrack”button 904, the user is presented with an area for text entry and avirtual keyboard for typing a new name for the soundtrack. By default,the name given to the soundtrack will be “Soundtrack 1”, but anykeyboard input from the user will replace this default title with theentered name.

[0077]FIG. 10 illustrates the creation of a soundtrack using a varietyof different audio sources. A new soundtrack 1002 is created byselecting audio tracks from one or more different audio sources.Exemplary audio sources illustrated in FIG. 10 include audio CDs 1004and 1006, game discs 1008 and 1010, WMA files 1012 and 1014, and audioDVDs 1016 and 1018. Although a limited number of audio sources areillustrated in FIG. 10, soundtrack 1002 can be created using audiotracks from any number of audio sources that represent any number ofartists. The audio tracks that comprise soundtrack 1002 can be arrangedin any order, regardless of the audio source or the time at which theaudio track was retrieved or copied.

[0078] Audio CDs 1004 and 1006 typically include multiple audio tracks.Soundtrack 1002 may contain one or more audio tracks from one or moreaudio CDs. Game discs 1008 and 1010 may contain one or more audio tracksthat are played during the game. One or more of those audio tracks; maybe included in the user-created soundtrack 1002. WMA files 1012 and 1014may be stored locally on the hard disk drive or available from an onlinesource. Each WMA file may contain one or more audio tracks. One or moreaudio tracks from one or more WMA files may be included in soundtrack1002. Additionally, one or more MPEG Layer 3 (MP3) audio files (notshown) may be included in soundtrack 1002. MP3 files may be storedlocally on the hard disk drive or available from an online source. AudioDVDs 1016 and 1018 typically include multiple audio tracks. Soundtrack1002 may include one or more audio tracks from one or more audio DVDs.

[0079]FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 1100 for creatinga new soundtrack. The process 1100 is implemented in software ascomputer-executable instructions that are executed by the CPU 200 toperform the operations illustrated as blocks. Initially, the gamingsystem 100 creates a new soundtrack file to receive the selected audiotracks (block 1102). The user is given the opportunity to name thesoundtrack. If the user does not provide a name, a default name“Soundtrack n” is applied to the soundtrack. The default name can laterbe changed by the user.

[0080] At block 1104, the console application 260 presents a list ofaudio sources from which to retrieve or copy audio tracks. Next, theuser selects an audio source from the list of audio sources (block1106). The console application 260 then presents a list of audio tracksavailable from the selected audio source (block 1108). The user thenselects one or more audio tracks from the list to include in thesoundtrack (block 1110). At block 1112, the console application 260retrieves the selected audio tracks and adds the audio tracks to thesoundtrack. If necessary, the console application 260 converts theretrieved audio files into WMA format. For example, audio tracks from anaudio CD or an audio DVD are converted from their native format into WMAformat prior to adding the audio tracks to the soundtrack. Similarly,MP3 files are converted from MP3 format to WMA format before adding theaudio tracks to the soundtrack.

[0081] At block 1114, the console application 260 determines whethermore audio tracks are to be added to the soundtrack. This determinationis performed, for example, by querying the user as to whether they wantto add more tracks. If additional tracks are to be added to thesoundtrack, the process 1100 returns to block 1104, where the user ispresented with a list of audio sources. Alternatively, the process 1100may return to block 1106, which allows the user to select another audiotrack from the same audio source as the previous selection.

[0082] After all audio tracks have been added to the soundtrack, theprocess 1100 returns to the music collection menu (block 1116) shown inFIG. 7. At this point, the music collection menu displays the newlycreated soundtrack in the list of available soundtracks.

[0083] Each user of a game console 102 can have their soundtracks storedseparately from the soundtracks created by other console users. Forexample, when a user completes the creation of a new soundtrack, thesoundtrack is stored in an area on the hard disk drive associated withthat user or a user attribute is stored with the soundtrack indicatingthe creator of the soundtrack. Thus, when a particular user identifiesthemselves to the game console, the game console displays thesoundtracks created by that particular user.

[0084]FIG. 12 illustrates a graphical user interface depicting anexemplary audio track selection screen 1200 displayed during thecreation of a soundtrack. Audio track selection screen 1200 includes alist 1202 of available audio tracks (e.g., from an audio disc or anonline source), and a corresponding list 1204 of audio tracks that arealready in the soundtrack. The user then selects a single audio track,or multiple tracks, to be included in the soundtrack. The screen 1200also depicts a status area 1208 that identifies the progress of thetotal operation. The ordering of the audio tracks in list 1204 can beadjusted by dragging a particular ii audio track to the desired locationin the list and releasing the audio track. The list 1204 is thenreordered to reflect the new location of the audio track.

[0085] A particular implementation of the audio track selection screenmay include a “name soundtrack” button that allows the user to assign aname to the soundtrack. The name can be entered using a virtual keyboardor other character input mechanism. The audio track selection screen mayalso include a delete button that allows the user to delete a particularsong from the soundtrack.

[0086] After the soundtrack is completed, a select element 1206 isactivated by the using the “A” button on the controller. This selectelement causes the system to navigate back to the music collection menu.A back element 1210 facilitates navigation back to the previous menu bypressing the “B” button on the controller.

[0087] If the user cancels a file copy operation, those audio filesbeing copied or retrieved will be lost. If a power off occurs whilecreating a soundtrack, any audio files being copied or retrieved willnot be included in the soundtrack.

[0088] In a particular implementation, soundtracks are stored as one ormore WMA files on the gaming system 100. Specifically, WMA files forsoundtracks are stored in a flat directory on the hard disk drive 208.This directory also contains a text data file that maintains a referenceof all WIA files, as well as the soundtracks to which each WMA filebelongs. Because the game console manages the soundtrack directory, itis possible to keep this data file up to date. An API (applicationprogram interface) may be used to allow a game to query such informationas the list of available soundtracks, the first audio file of a specificsoundtrack, the last audio file of a specific soundtrack, and the nextaudio file in a specific soundtrack.

[0089]FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 1300 thatdetermines which soundtrack to play when a particular game is launched.The process 1300 is implemented in software as computer-executableinstructions that are executed by the CPU 200 to perform the operationsillustrated as blocks. When a user plays a game, the user can choose tolisten to the game's default soundtrack or listen to a differentsoundtrack. If the user becomes tired of the game's default soundtrack,the user can create a new soundtrack and associate that soundtrack withthe game title such that the new soundtrack is played when the game islaunched instead of the game's default soundtrack. This new soundtrackis referred to as a “user-associated soundtrack.”

[0090] The process 1300 begins when a user selects a game to play (block1302). The game may be selected, for example, by inserting a game discin the portable media drive 106, by selecting a game from list of gamesstored on the hard disk drive 108, or by selecting a game from an onlinesource. The console application 260 determines whether the selected gamehas a user-associated soundtrack (block 1304). If the selected game hasa user-associated soundtrack, the game is launched and theuser-associated soundtrack is played during the execution of the game(block 1306).

[0091] If the selected game does not have a user-associated soundtrack,the console application 260 presents the user with an option to select asoundtrack or play the game using the default soundtrack (block 1308).Next, the console application 260 determines whether the user selected asoundtrack or the default soundtrack (block 1310). If the user selectsthe default game soundtrack, the game is launched and the default gamesoundtrack is played during the execution of the game (block 1312). Ifthe user selects to choose a soundtrack, the user is presented with theavailable soundtracks stored on the gaming system (block 1314). The gameis then launched and the selected soundtrack is played during theexecution of the game (block 1316).

[0092] When the user selects a soundtrack to play instead of the defaultsoundtrack, the user is presented with the option of making thesoundtrack change “permanent.” If the change is made permanent, theselected soundtrack will be played instead of the default soundtrackeach time the game is played. Thus, the user is not required to selectthe new soundtrack each time the game is played the system will rememberthe new soundtrack until the user specifically changes the soundtrack orspecifically requests the gaming console to begin using the default gamesoundtrack.

[0093] Since the soundtrack is played from the hard disk drive, theplayback of the soundtrack does not interfere with the execution of thegame from the game disc. The game disc remains in the game console whilethe soundtrack executes, thereby eliminating the game disruptions thatwould occur if the game disc was removed and replaced with an audio CD.The user can change soundtracks in the middle of a game by pausing thegame and selecting a different soundtrack. The game is then “un-paused”and game play continues at the point where the game was previouslypaused. The new soundtrack is played back from the hard disk drive whilethe game executes from the game disc.

[0094] Although the invention has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specificfeatures and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing theclaimed invention.

1. A game console, comprising: a memory; a processor coupled to thememory; and a console application stored in memory and executable on theprocessor, the console application configured to create a soundtrackcontaining a plurality of audio tracks.
 2. A game console as recited inclaim 1 wherein the memory comprises a hard disk drive.
 3. A gameconsole as recited in claim 1 wherein the console application is furtherconfigured to play soundtracks through the game console.
 4. A gameconsole as recited in claim 1 wherein the console application retrievesaudio tracks from an audio CD in the game console.
 5. A game console asrecited in claim 1 wherein the console application retrieves audiotracks from an audio DVD in the game console.
 6. A game console asrecited in claim 1 wherein the console application 22 retrieves audiotracks from a game disc in the game console.
 7. A game console asrecited in claim 1 wherein the console application retrieves audiotracks from an online source coupled to the game console.
 8. A gameconsole as recited in claim 1 wherein the console application stores thesoundtrack in the memory.
 9. A game console as recited in claim 1wherein the console application stores the soundtrack in the memory as aWMA file.
 10. A game console as recited in claim 1 wherein the consoleapplication retrieves audio tracks from a plurality of audio sources.11. A game console as recited in claim 1 wherein the console applicationis further configured to associate the soundtrack with a particular gamesuch that the soundtrack is played when the particular game is launched.12. A game console as recited in claim 1 wherein the console applicationis further configured to associate the soundtrack with a particular userof the game console.
 13. A game console as recited in claim 1 whereinthe console application is further configured to display a listing ofall soundtracks available for playback by the game console.
 14. A gameconsole, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory,the processor being configured to present a first user interface tofacilitate creation of a soundtrack containing a plurality of audiotracks, the processor further configured to present a second userinterface to facilitate playback of soundtracks stored in the memory.15. A game console as recited in claim 14 wherein the second userinterface is further to facilitate the associating of a selectedsoundtrack with a particular game such that the selected soundtrack isplayed when the particular game is launched.
 16. A game console asrecited in claim 14 wherein the second user interface furtherfacilitates the associating of a selected soundtrack with a particularuser of the game console.
 17. A game console as recited in claim 14wherein the plurality of audio tracks are retrieved from a plurality ofaudio sources.
 18. A game console as recited in claim 14 wherein theplurality of audio tracks are retrieved from a single audio source. 19.A game console as recited in claim 14 wherein the first user interfacefacilitates creation of a soundtrack by presenting a list of audiosources from which to select audio tracks.
 20. A game console as recitedin claim 14 wherein the first user interface facilitates creation of asoundtrack by presenting a list of audio tracks available from aselected audio source, the first user interface further facilitatingselection of an audio track from the audio source for including in thesoundtrack.
 21. A method comprising: a receiving a request to launch agame in a gaming system; determining whether the game has auser-associated soundtrack; launching the game and playing theuser-associated soundtrack if the game has a user-associated soundtrack;and launching the game and playing a default soundtrack if the game doesnot have a user-associated soundtrack.
 22. A method as recited in claim21 wherein the default soundtrack is provided by the game developer. 23.A method as recited in claim 21 wherein the default soundtrack isprovided on a game disc.
 24. A method as recited in claim 21 wherein thedefault soundtrack and the game are stored on a game disc installed inthe gaming system.
 25. A method as recited in claim 21 wherein playingthe user-associated soundtrack includes retrieving the user-associatedsoundtrack from a hard disk drive in the gaming system.
 26. A method asrecited in claim 21 wherein playing the user-associated soundtrackoccurs while a game disc is installed in the gaming system.
 27. One ormore computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructionsthat, when executed, perform the method as recited in claim
 21. 28. Amethod comprising: receiving a request to play a game in a gamingsystem; determining whether the game has a user-associated soundtrack;if the game has a user-associated soundtrack: launching the game; andplaying the user-associated soundtrack; if the game does not have auser-associated soundtrack: allowing a user of the gaming system toselect a soundtrack to play while the game is executed.
 29. A method asrecited in claim 28 wherein allowing a user of the gaming system toselect a soundtrack includes allowing the user to select between adefault game soundtrack and other soundtracks stored in the gamingsystem.
 30. A method as recited in claim 28 wherein allowing a user ofthe gaming system to select a soundtrack includes associating theselected soundtrack with the game if the selected soundtrack is storedin the gaming system.
 31. A method as recited in claim 28 whereinallowing the user of the gaming system to select a soundtrack includesassociating the selected soundtrack with the game if the selectedsoundtrack is not the default game soundtrack.
 32. A method as recitedin claim 28 wherein allowing the user of the gaming system to select asoundtrack includes
 33. One or more computer-readable media comprisingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform the methodas recited in claim
 28. 34. A method comprising: launching a game andplaying a user-associated soundtrack on a gaming system; receiving arequest to select a different soundtrack; pausing execution of the game;determining the new soundtrack to be played; and resuming execution ofthe game and playing the new soundtrack on the gaming system.
 35. Amethod as recited in claim 34 wherein determining the new soundtrack tobe played includes: displaying a list of available soundtracks to a userof the gaming system; and identifying the soundtrack selected by theuser of the gaming system.
 36. A method as recited in claim 35 whereinthe list of available soundtracks is generated by identifyingsoundtracks stored on a hard disk drive in the gaming system.
 37. Amethod as recited in claim 35 wherein the list of available soundtracksis generated by identifying soundtracks associated with the user of thegaming system.
 38. One or more computer-readable media comprisingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform the methodas recited in claim
 34. 39. A user interface for a game console,comprising: a music collection menu configured to identify soundtracksthat are currently available to play on the game console; and asoundtrack creation menu accessible from the music collection menu tocreate a soundtrack from one or more audio tracks.
 40. A user interfaceas recited in claim 39 wherein the soundtrack creation menu is furtherconfigured to facilitate association of a soundtrack with a particulargame.
 41. A user interface as recited in claim 39 wherein the soundtrackcreation menu is further configured to facilitate association of aspecific soundtrack with a particular game such that when the game isexecuted, the specific soundtrack is played instead of the particulargame's default soundtrack.
 42. A computer-readable medium for a gameconsole comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed,direct the game console to: identify a game to be executed by the gameconsole; determine whether the identified game has a user-associatedsoundtrack; execute the game while playing the user-associatedsoundtrack if the identified game has a user-associated soundtrack; andexecute the game while playing a default game soundtrack if theidentified game does not have a user-associated soundtrack.
 43. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 42 wherein the default gamesoundtrack is stored on a game disc with an associated game.
 44. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 42 wherein theuser-associated soundtrack is played while a game disc is installed inthe game console.